You pro'lly already know I'm a big fan of rising star cartoonist Ross Campbell (Glory, TMNT, Shadoweyes, Wet Moon), whose mastery of drawing lovely girls of every conceivable shape, size and color is matched only by his skill at writing them as fully-realized characters. My introduction to Ross's work came from running across the ruthless zombie invasion graphic novel The Abandoned that he put out as part of Tokyopop's awesome but ultimately doomed line of American graphic novels. I said all that to say that Ross's new webcomic Can't Look Back picks up where The Abandoned left off. Sorta...

Wait, what?! Is he saying The Abandoned was just a dream? An imaginary story? I DON'T BELIEVE IT! Can't Look Back may be starting out as pastel-colored wet dream, but my experience tells me that Ross is just lulling us with what amounts to a sweet-tart-flavored calm before the storm. As I have said before, The Abandoned bowled me over by masquerading as the best slice-of-life comic I ever read, just to punch me in the mouth with first-rate stomach-turning violence. Ross managed to get me fully attached to the ensemble cast of The Abandoned only to rip them all apart when the inexplicable zombie outbreak cascades into town.I have never come across another writer-artist with the rare combination of restraint and work ethic that it takes to pull off this style of storytelling so flawlessly. Ross seems to enjoy the set up as much as the payoff, and what's more, he makes sure you enjoy it even more than he does. The Oni Press graphic novel series Wet Moon had me fully convinced that Ross was the best slice-of-life cartoonist ever, and I'm only just now (six volumes in) starting to realize what the series is really about.

His work on Glory and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesis evidence that Ross's drawing ability has gotten the attention of the mainstream comics industry, which is good. But I am especially excited to see that he remains committed to building his own worlds. I have never seen anyone do it quite like him.

So anyways, there's more to this steamy love scene on the CAN'T LOOK BACK Tumblr, so look over your shoulder to make sure the coast is clear, then CLICK HERE to check it out!